NEW ESCORT MISSION: Sailors prepare to set sail at Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang Province on February 21. The eighth Chinese naval escort flotilla, consisting of frigate Wenzhou and frigate Ma'anshan, departed for an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden (TANG SHIFENG)

Disappearing Islands

A five-year survey finds China's sea islands are disappearing due largely to disorderly and crude exploitation.

Reclamation, sand dredging and bombing are some of the destructive human activities that have caused the disappearance of islands, according to the survey, conducted by the State Oceanic Administration.

In addition, the survey, which aims to collect information about China's coast, sea islands and inter-tidal regions, shows longer natural coastlines have been converted into man-made structures over the past several years as urban development and port construction picked up.

Using a high-resolution remote satellite and aerial remote sensing, the survey obtained information on the distribution of coastal resources.

The State Oceanic Administration said a directory of China's sea islands would be published soon, which would provide the latest and comprehensive coastal information.

Food Concerns

China will continue its fight against illegal practices concerning food safety this year, tightening regulation in key sectors, said a top food safety watchdog.

The key sectors include dairy products, edible oil, meat, health food, food additives, liquors and wines, according to a statement from the office of the Food Safety Commission under the State Council released on February 19.

A plenary meeting of the commission on February 18 worked out a list of major tasks to ensure the safety of food products this year.

The operation of food manufacturers will be strictly regulated and regulations will be enforced to ensure food safety compliance from producers, the statement says. Also, efforts will be made to improve the country's food safety emergency response system and enhance its capability to monitor and assess food safety risks.

New Correction Method

Altogether 598,000 convicts have served community-based sentences in China since it launched correction programs aimed at preparing criminals for a smooth return to society in 2003, the Ministry of Justice said on February 21.

Of these convicts, 320,000 have finished their community-based sentences while the remaining are still undergoing such programs. The ministry said 0.22 percent of these convicts committed crimes while serving such sentences.

China began its community correction programs on a pilot basis in 2003 in Beijing and Shanghai, then extended the program to the rest of the country. As of 2010, 304 city-level and 2,053 county-level administrative regions have carried out community correction programs.

Community correction programs are usually imposed on convicted criminals sentenced to community service, those given a reprieve, those on parole and medical parole, especially minors, the elderly, the ill and pregnant mothers convicted of minor crimes.

Abused Drugs

About 70 percent of Chinese families improperly use medicine, according to a survey conducted by the China Nonprescription Medicines Association.

The survey, which polled 10,000 people and was released on February 20, concludes a majority of the ordinary people tend to go to drugstores to buy medications for minor sicknesses instead of seeing a doctor. It also finds more than half of the respondents have no understanding of why over-the-counter medicines should be their first choice at pharmacies and more than 40 percent of them mistake pain-relief drugs for over-the-counter medicines.

Worse, about half of those polled do not know the meaning of "over-the-counter," according to the survey.